Earthway Precision Garden Seeder Review - Model 1001 B

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When I decided to expand my upper garden area I knew I wanted to buy a precision garden seeder to make planting less labor intensive.  After checking out seeders and reading reviews on Amazon.com, I decided to buy the Earthway Model 1001 B Precision Garden Seeder.

I used it this past weekend to plant corn and white acre peas, and I am very pleased with the results.  You can click the link above to find detailed information about it, but I will try to explain how it works.

It is basically a two wheeled device that you push through the soil.  As you push it, it automatically makes a trench for the seed, picks up and drops the seed in the trench, and then covers it up.  It also makes a mark for the next row.  Everything on it is adjustable.  You can adjust the depth of the trench for your seed depth, you can adjust your row marker, and you can adjust how far apart you want your seeds planted.

It comes with six different seed discs that rotate in the seed hopper and grabs the seed and deposits it in the trench.  You can adjust how far you want your seed planted by covering holes in the discs with tape.  I just planted using all the holes, and will go back and thin if I need to.  I have read complaints that it only works in finely tilled soil, and I could see where that might be true.  I had no problems at all and it was worth the $90 bucks. 

I planted 125 feet of peaches and cream corn and 125 feet of white acres in less than 20 minutes.  That included having to switch out seed plates when I changed from corn to pea seeds.  It would have taken me 2-3 hours on my hands and knees to do it the hard way.

I am so happy with it, and I wish I had more area to plant.  I could easily plant a football field worth or corn in a couple of hours with this thing.  I will post an update on what kind of germination rates I get, but so far I am impressed.

Here is the seeder, very easy to use.

Here is the wedge plate below the seeder that makes the trench in the ground for the seed to fall into. I set the depth to 1.25 inches for my corn.  The chain drags the ground behind the wedge plate and covers the seed.

Here is the long extension rod that marks the ground for the next row.

Here is a picture inside the hopper and the disc plate.

Here was a picture after my first two rows of corn were planted.  You can see the first line on the left is already marked for me.  All I had to do was place the front wheel of the seeder in that mark and go.

Here is everything all finished.

Five rows of corn and five rows of peas.

Garden Gambling and Spring Planting

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What is garden gambling?  It is the term I use for pushing the envelope on how early I plant my seeds in spring.  As with any gamble, there is a risk but with earlier (notice I didn't say greater) rewards.  It all depends on how much you want to tempt Mother Nature.

So with my garden expansion project complete, I couldn't resist getting my corn and white acre peas in the ground.  Last year I planted my peaches and cream corn on March 19th, so this year I am early by about 8 days.  My planting chart from UGA recommends March 15th as the earliest corn planting date.  I checked the 10 day forecast and temps look good with no sign of frost.  Everything turned out fine last year, so I am hoping I will be ok this year too. 

Now my white acre peas on the other hand, I am probably way too early.  My planting chart from UGA recommends April 1st, so I am about two and half weeks early.  I have so many cow pea varieties I want to try this year, so I am taking a calculated risk by planting them so early.  If they germinate, I should be ok, but they may take a little longer to produce.

I planted five rows of corn and five rows of white acre peas in my new garden area.  I planted them using a new seeder I bought over the winter and boy was it a great investment.  The total length planted was 125 feet of corn and 125 feet of peas, and they were planted in under 20 minutes.  I will be posting a detailed review of my seeder in a few days.

Here is my new seeder

This was after I planted everything, straight and evenly spaced rows.

God is the One Who Makes The Seed Grow

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I am a Christian, and I know enough to know that I don't know anything, and what I do know is only because of the grace of God. God is teaching me new things through His Word and His Spirit that lives inside me.  This week a piece of scripture moved me and it also is gardening related so that is why I would like to share it.

It is 1 Corinthians 3:4-9 from the New Living Translation

⁴ When one of you says, “I am a follower of Paul,” and another says, “I follow Apollos,” aren’t you acting just like people of the world?

 ⁵ After all, who is Apollos? Who is Paul? We are only God’s servants through whom you believed the Good News. Each of us did the work the Lord gave us. ⁶ I planted the seed in your hearts, and Apollos watered it, but it was God who made it grow. ⁷ It’s not important who does the planting, or who does the watering. What’s important is that God makes the seed grow. ⁸ The one who plants and the one who waters work together with the same purpose. And both will be rewarded for their own hard work. ⁹ For we are both God’s workers. And you are God’s field. You are God’s building.

My Interpretation of this Scripture:
Paul is writing to the Corinthians and is explaining to them that just because he told them about Christ and just because Apollos continued that message, they should not say they are followers of Paul or Apollos.  They are followers of Christ, their Lord and Savior.  Paul planted the seed in their hearts by telling them about Christ.  Apollos watered that seed by continuing to preach the good news after Paul planted the seed.  But it is God and only God that makes that seed grow in a person's heart.  God's holy spirit makes that seed grow, the person who plants the seed of God's word and the person who waters it are only workers for God to achieve the same result.

This passage really moved me this week, it put some things into perspective for me.  It is hard when you pray so hard and witness to people that are unbelievers, especially for family and friends.  It reminded me that I am not the source of someone accepting Christ and becoming a believer.  Only God can make that happen.  I am just one of God's workers in His field and he makes the seeds grow in our hearts.  We can live our lives in ways that witness to others and we can preach the Gospel but we have to remember it is not about us, but about Him.  We are just His workers doing His work in His fields.

Obviously the metaphors here are strongly tied to gardening and easy to understand.  If you think about it, in life as Christians and as gardeners, it is a remarkable thing that you can plant a seed whether it be in the ground or in a person's heart.  To watch God grow that seed, whether from the ground into something useful, or in a person's heart into a life that is transformed by Christ is something magical and rewarding.